REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL CONVERGENCE REPORT 2014 (prepared in accordance with Article 140(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)

Abstract

Article 140(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereafter TFEU) requires the Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) to report to the Council, at least once every two years, or at the request of a Member State with a derogation1, on the progress made by the Member States in fulfilling their obligations regarding the achievement of economic and monetary union. The latest Commission and ECB Convergence Reports relating to all Member States with a derogation were adopted in May 20122. The 2014 Convergence Report covers the following eight Member States with a derogation: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden3. A more detailed assessment of the state of convergence in these Member States is provided in a Technical Annex to this Report (SWD(2014) 177). At the time of the Convergence Report in 2012, Member States had shown uneven progress with convergence, as many of them were undergoing significant adjustments of previously accumulated macroeconomic imbalances, against the background of the economic and financial crisis. The present examination takes place in a still difficult external environment, though with a generally stronger recovery in Member States with a derogation and lower risk perception by financial markets.